Everyone always seems to try and get the brightest lights possible- kinda like an arms race out there .

It's been my experience though that the squid tend to hit the best at the edge of the light- they stay in the dark and jet out to get the bait. I've also had my best bites right when my lantern was running out of fuel- the light dimmed down and the squid just raced in to take out all the bait (and jigs) that suddenly lost the security of the light.

Has anyone tried jigging with just a dim lantern? Any success? I think a great route to go would be to hook up a dimmer switch to a generator- keep the light cranked up to draw in the bait, then slowly dim it so the squid feel safe and come in to feed. Repeat as necessary... Could be worth a shot.

Everyone always seems to try and get the brightest lights possible- kinda like an arms race out there .

It's been my experience though that the squid tend to hit the best at the edge of the light- they stay in the dark and jet out to get the bait. I've also had my best bites right when my lantern was running out of fuel- the light dimmed down and the squid just raced in to take out all the bait (and jigs) that suddenly lost the security of the light.

Has anyone tried jigging with just a dim lantern? Any success? I think a great route to go would be to hook up a dimmer switch to a generator- keep the light cranked up to draw in the bait, then slowly dim it so the squid feel safe and come in to feed. Repeat as necessary... Could be worth a shot.

I have to admit that I've tried about four different lights, mostly at Jamestown, but the dimmest thing involved in the ordeal was me! Actually, the best night I ever had was in very shallow water at the foot of the pier where the overhead lights are the only thing on the water. I almost filled my cooler in about two hours fishing with my son last season. I have tried some dim lighting but no luck. That may not mean much because on those nights nobody was getting anything. Maybe I'll try a couple different setups this weekend. I'll be in Jamestown with at least one of my sons Saturday night. Does anyone know if what's left of the old Jamestown bridge (on the West side) is accessible?chopper

today me and a couple GISS is going down to G.I and gona revolutionise the squiding scene

were gona be using a High Intensity Discharge (HID) from a car headlight unit

something like this , and were gona use a car headlamp to project it into the water

LETS HOPE THIS WORK

- inked for life

hopefully my buddies will take pics when they get back

Curious how you plan to run HID's. Are you plugging the ballasts into a car battery? What temp bulbs do you plan to use? Are you running halo projectors? Just curious b/c i've done some retrofitting of HID projectors in cars not equipped with them from the factory so I have access to parts usually.

I've thought about the HID lighting thing...just dont know...they put out a LOT
of light...is that much really necessary is the question...i think ill
leave the hids in my cars lol....Ive also thought of a smaller metal halide setup, similar to that of SW reef tanks. That would be a bit costly, if it were to get damaged by sw. And i think ill leave that on my tank lol.

So in the end ive decided to stick with the high output halogens. 250, 500, 750 or 1000watts total,
whichever I need at any given time. Imo, its plenty of light...

Few friends were coming up with the idea of using the yellow tint one but instead of a direct beam, try reflecting it to broad cast the light to a larger area. (haven't tried that)

We have discussed the options, we found that the HID though strong, is not what the squid like. For some reason they light the large high candle watt lights...

I also tried Halide in the past and didnt see any major difference. I think your right about the temperature and would go with less white/blue bulbs. Regular street lights are HID lights, like on the bridge. IMO, the best part of Metal Halide is it draws a fraction of the wattage compared to Halogen.

If your looking to buy, I think Home Depot carries a portable variety. not cheap.

I've thought about the HID lighting thing...just dont know...they put out a LOTof light...is that much really necessary is the question...i think illleave the hids in my cars lol....Ive also thought of a smaller metal halide setup, similar to that of SW reef tanks. That would be a bit costly, if it were to get damaged by sw. And i think ill leave that on my tank lol.

So in the end ive decided to stick with the high output halogens. 250, 500, 750 or 1000watts total,whichever I need at any given time. Imo, its plenty of light...

Funny that exact thought process...pretty much to a T, crossed my mind and I decided on the same. (less the halogens for now)

I actually started squid fishing/squidding back in 2005 in Greenport, NY. The squid run was unreal that year and the year after. But 2007, 2008 and 2009 (so far) have all be very disappointing. I was wondering how far back people have been squidding in Newport with success (especially off the GI bridge). Do successful seasons come in bunches? Just trying to figure out the history to maybe shed some light on why some years are amazing and some years are terrible, in Greenport at least. Thanks all. Good luck this season.

Curious how you plan to run HID's. Are you plugging the ballasts into a car battery? What temp bulbs do you plan to use? Are you running halo projectors? Just curious b/c i've done some retrofitting of HID projectors in cars not equipped with them from the factory so I have access to parts usually.

we ran it off a car battery. the temp of the bulbs were 6,000k , we wouldve used a headlight from a car that had projectors to give it that nice clean cut off but didn't have any spare. So we just used a headlight from a 96 eclipse. This is just a testing of just to see if it works and how long it lasted . So far so good, were gona building sometings that has like clear tubing with the bulb inside so we can submerge it in the water, the HIDs are already water proof.

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******** Messege me to join this squad, we are looking for new members all the time ******** G.I.S.S. Member #001 *******

I'm going stir crazy and can't get anyone to come with me to newport tonight Thought my brother might make it but he has a wedding to attend this afternoon. Who gets married on a friday afternoon anyway? Damn weddings....cutting into squidding time

we ran it off a car battery. the temp of the bulbs were 6,000k , we wouldve used a headlight from a car that had projectors to give it that nice clean cut off but didn't have any spare. So we just used a headlight from a 96 eclipse. This is just a testing of just to see if it works and how long it lasted . So far so good, were gona building sometings that has like clear tubing with the bulb inside so we can submerge it in the water, the HIDs are already water proof.